EditorialTrauma, posttraumatic stress disorder symptom clusters, and physical health symptoms in postabused women☆
Section snippets
Review of literature
Research has shown that intimately abused women experience serious physical health problems requiring medical, trauma, or gynecologic treatment Campbell and Alford 1989, Follingstad et al 1991, Golding et al 1997, Tollestrup et al 1999, and psychological/emotional health problems, including depression Campbell 1989, Dienemann et al 2000, Jack and Dill 1992, substance abuse Curry 1998, McFarlane et al 1996, and PTSD Astin et al 1995, Houskamp and Foy 1991, Kemp et al 1995, Saunders 1994, Woods
Method
A retrospective, predictive-correlational design was used to examine the relationship between lifetime trauma, PTSD symptom clusters, and physical health symptoms in postabused women. A convenience sample of 50 postabused women, who had been out of a battering relationship at least 1 year, were recruited through bulletin board postings and pamphlets in community agencies, libraries, supermarkets, YWCAs, and churches. After obtaining consent, the women completed a questionnaire booklet
Physical health problems in PTSD-positive postabused women
The mean SCL-PTSD score for the study sample was 1.25 (SD = .95) and ranged from .04–3.43 on a scale of 4. Saunders et al. (1990) identified that a clinical score of 0.89 or above on the SCL-PTSD maximized the scale’s ability to discriminate the presence of PTSD. Based on this cut-off score, 52% of the postabused women met criteria for PTSD.
The differences between the postabused women who were PTSD positive and PTSD negative and physical health symptoms were analyzed using the phi coefficient,
Discussion
The results of this study demonstrate that violent trauma throughout the lifespan impacted the health of postabused women. In this sample 52% of the postabused women met criteria for the diagnosis of PTSD. These women had experienced many lifetime violent and nonviolent traumas accounting for 24% of the variance in physical health symptoms. But only violent trauma throughout the lifetime significantly influenced the long-term health of postabused women. The postabused women experienced multiple
Conclusions
The prevalence of lifetime violent trauma in women and its short- and long-term sequelae on health are great. The results highlight the need for health care practitioners in all settings to assess for a history of trauma in a woman’s life, particularly when a woman presents with multiple nonspecific physical health complaints. In addition, practitioners need to consider a relationship between nonspecific health complaints and PTSD avoidance and hyperarousal symptom clusters.
Further research is
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The traumatized body: Long-term PTSD and its implications for the orientation towards bodily signals
2018, Psychiatry ResearchCitation Excerpt :Yet, findings regarding the divergent implications of PTSD symptom clusters for the experience of the body are inconsistent. Specifically, while some findings suggest that all clusters are associated with reported somatic symptoms (Hoge et al., 2007), others found avoidance symptoms to explain health service utilization (Polusny et al., 2008), and physical health symptoms (Woods and Wineman, 2004). A few studies, however, found that alongside other clusters, hyperarousal symptoms are correlated with physical functioning (Tsai et al., 2015) and physical health symptoms (Woods and Wineman, 2004).
Biological and clinical framework for posttraumatic stress disorder
2012, Handbook of Clinical NeurologyCitation Excerpt :PTSD status has a stronger association with these specific physical health problems than anxiety or depression (Boscarino, 1997; Andreski et al., 1998; Weisberg et al., 2002), and, where a nontraumatized control group is included, PTSD is a stronger predictor of physical health in multiple categories than trauma alone (Weisberg et al., 2002). Physical health problems also correlate with the intensity of hyperarousal and avoidance symptoms (Woods and Wineman, 2004). A number of studies of individuals experiencing danger and/or life threat have shown specific peritraumatic dissociative changes, including alterations in time sense, perception, attentional focus, and awareness of pain, among others (Morgan et al., 2001).
Physical Health and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence
2008, Journal of Midwifery and Women's HealthCitation Excerpt :However, the relationship between physical health and PTSD symptoms in women experiencing IPV was not examined in these studies. This issue is important because PTSD may be both an acute and long-term effect of IPV,6,12–14 lasting even after the woman has left the abusive relationship.7 Golding5 conducted a meta-analysis of 11 studies and reported that 31% to 84.4% of women who experienced IPV met PTSD criteria (weighted mean prevalence = 63.8%).
Measurement Invariance of the Reckless and Self-destructive Behaviors Construct Assessed by the Posttrauma Risky Behaviors Questionnaire (PRBQ) Across Trauma Type and Trauma Count
2022, Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral AssessmentChildhood Physical Abuse and Antisocial Traits: Mediating Role of Posttraumatic Stress Symptom Clusters
2022, Journal of Child and Adolescent TraumaGaslighting. Spousal psychological abuse exacerbated by drug use or drug abuse
2020, Revista Espanola de Drogodependencias
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Supported by The University of Akron Summer Research Fellowship, Akron, OH.